Easter Sweet Treats!

Easter is the celebration of spring, fertility, and new life. The festival of culmination of the passion of Christ, Easter is one of the most cheerful occasions of the year and brings families, friends, and loved ones together. Parents express joy in surprising their kids with colourful Easter baskets filled with jelly belly beans, retro sweets, and exciting gifts. While, children enjoy searching Easter eggs and spending the day at play.

This year, celebrate Easter with exciting dessert treats topped with your favourite JellyBelly jelly beans. The sky is the limit when it comes to fun and creative snack ideas for Easter with jelly beans. Here, we have selected some fun recipes to make your meals even more exciting. So, round out your meals with our scrumptious Easter desserts and take pleasure in time with your family:

Easter Basket Cookies:

Ingredients: 

•       Murray Sugar Free® Sandwich cookies Vanilla Crème
•            Colourful Jelly Beans (chopped) 
•       Fruit Straws (or shoestring liquorice)
•       Vanilla Frosting

 

Recipe: 

1.       Cut the shoestring liquorice into eight equal sized pieces for eight basket handle pieces. Set aside.

2.       Gently cut the top of the cookies off.

3.       Dab a small amount of frosting onto one of the cut off top pieces. Then “glue” the cut off piece to the bottom of the cookie basket portion with frosting, so the cookie sits upright on top of frosting.

4.       Insert the ends of the liquorice piece in between the sandwich cookies as shown to create the Easter basket handles.

5.       Spread frosting on top of the cookie between the straw ends.  Gently sprinkle colourful jelly beans on top of frosting for the “eggs” in the basket.

(Modified from: http://www.snackpicks.com/en_US/holidays-and-occasions/easter/easter-basket-fun-kid-snack.html) 

Chick and Egg Cupcake

 

Ingredients:

•       vanilla cupcake
•       About 1/3 cup White Fluff Frosting
•       Green coconut grass
•       jelly belly beans (2 crushed pineapple, 2 Tutti-frutti, 2 Coconut)
•       1 yellow chick peep
•       White Airhead candy

Recipe: 

1.       Frost a cupcake with fluff frosting.
2.       Press a circle of coconut grass on top.
3.        Nestle the jelly belly beans on top of the grass.
4.      Gently press the peep onto the centre of the grass.
5.       Cut the white Airhead into a 1/2 oval shape; trim one side so it has a cracked egg jagged edge.
6.       Place egg next to chick.

(Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/chick-and-egg-cupcake-recipe/index.html ) 

Easter Bunny Cake

Ingredients: 

For Frosting:

•      3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
•      6 cups confectioners' sugar
•      Pinch fine salt
•     1 tablespoon vanilla extract
•     2 to 3 tablespoons milk

 

For Bunny:

•          2 baked 9-inch round cake layers (your favourite recipe or a 18.25-ounce boxed cake mix)
•          1 1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
•          2 store-bought biscotti
•          1 tube pink decorating icing
•          2 black jelly belly jelly beans
•          2 marshmallows
•          1 white jelly belly jelly bean, halved lengthwise
•          1 pink jelly belly jelly bean
•          1 black liquorice wheel

 Recipe:

For Frosting:

1.       Combine the butter, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or        in a large bowl if using a hand-held electric mixer).
2.       Mix on low speed until mostly incorporated.
3.       Add the vanilla, increase the speed to medium-high and mix until smooth.
4.       Adjust the consistency with milk until the frosting is easy to spread.

        

          For Bunny:

                    

1.     Spread a thin layer of frosting on the flat side of one cake layer, about 2/3 cup, and top with the flat side of the second cake layer. Measure 5 inches across the top of the cake and cut down through the layers, creating two layered pieces that are slightly different sizes. 
2.     Place the larger piece of cake, cut-side down, on a large platter or cake board. If using a rectangular cake board, place the larger piece so that the long edges are parallel with the long edges of the board. This is the body of the bunny.
   
   
   3.         Cut the smaller piece of cake in half crosswise, so you have two layered wedges. Place one wedge in front of the body, with one flat side on the board and the other flat side against the body. The curved side will be on top.
   
   
   4.        Take a serrated knife and round off the sharp edges on top of the head. Cut the tip off (the nose) at a 45-degree angle. Reserve all scraps in a bowl.
   
   
   5.       Separate the layers of the remaining wedge of cake. These will be the back legs. 
   
   
   6.       Round the sharp edges of the cake wedges with your knife, and add to the scrap bowl. Place one piece on each side of the bunny, with one flat side down and the other flat side facing forward (the round side towards the back of the bunny), about 1-inch from the end of the bunny's body.
   
   
   7.       Mix the cake scraps in the bowl with a fork until mashed, and then pack into a ball with your hands. Place the ball behind the bunny's body and adhere with a dab of frosting. This is the bunny's tail.
   
   
   8.       Frost the entire bunny, tail and all, using 2 to 3 cups of the frosting, keeping some definition with the bunny parts, and frosting more generously around any sharp edges to give a rounded look to the bunny parts. 
   
   
    9.       Sprinkle the bunny with the coconut to fully cover. Gently pat to adhere.
   
   
   10.       Insert the biscotti between the head and body, pressing into the cake to secure them. These are the ears. Place the base of the ears close together at the centre of the head and angle them out. Frost the front of each biscotto with some frosting. 
   
   
   11.       Then, using the pink decorating icing, frost a smaller strip in the centre of each biscotti, going down to where the ears meet the head but not going all the way to the top.
   
   
   12.       To make the face, press a black jelly bean into each side of the head for the eyes. Cut one of the marshmallows into 3 circles, discard the middle piece, and press the 2 end circles, cut-sides-in, into the front of the face for the bunny cheeks. Take the white jelly bean halves and push them into face below the cheeks, round-sides-out, for the teeth. 
   
   
   13.       Place the pink jelly bean above for the nose.
   
   
   14.   Unroll the liquorice wheel and cut 2 pieces about 1 1/2 inches long each. For each piece, peel the strips apart halfway down, and then cut each separated strip in half lengthwise so you end up with a piece looking a bit like a broom. Repeat with the second piece of liquorice. Tuck each piece, with a dab of frosting, behind a marshmallow cheek, with the cut ends facing out, for the whiskers.
   
   
   15.   Cut the second marshmallow in half lengthwise. Make 3 slits in each half, going about halfway through (these are the toes), and place in front of the legs for the bunny's feet. Adhere the bottom of the feet with icing if necessary.
   (Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/easter-bunny-cake-recipe/index.html )
   
   
   For Easter gifts and sweet hampers, visit http://hazzahgifts.co.uk.